As if the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival wasn’t packed enough, this week we’ve added a touch of nocturnal magic to the mix. For the first time this year, our Echoes of the Night Sky NFC microphone was deployed at the Longshore Flight Tower, bringing after-dark migration into the spotlight (or at least, the spectrogram).
Running overnight on May 15, the microphone picked up an array of vocal species winging overhead. Most notably, it captured audio of a state-endangered American Barn Owl, calling as it flew over the tower site. That’s only the second ever record for the tower, and a huge highlight that proves we should all be night owls now.
Other standouts always cool to hear on the mic included:
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- American Bittern
- Swainson’s Thrush
- Indigo Bunting
The checklist is officially on eBird if you want to listen to the owl call and other species that drifted through the night skies: Echoes of the Night Sky – May 15 Checklist. We will add these to the diurnal studies in this year’s longshore flight!
Tags: indiana dunes birding festival longshore flight survey
